security dog training

seanie91

Ive always wanted to be a professional security dog trainer but I don't know how to go about it! Does anyone Know how id learn how to security train a dog or if there's a coarse available

DBB

By security dog, do you mean a yard dog that's intended to bark at intruders?
Or are you talking more about a patrol dog that would patrol an area with a handler?
If the latter, there are a few places around the country that train dogs for this purpose, whether they run courses or not I don't know, but may be open to taking on student workers. That said, I can't think of a single such private organisation that trains their dogs ethically and without a fair degree of coercion, basing the training on some pretty outdated and unnecessarily harsh techniques. Maybe there's a nice ethical one out there, I just haven't come across them.
I think you'd be far better served to get yourself a properly accredited course in general dog training and the science behind training and how dogs learn, as such courses give you a great foundation for spreading your wings to go into a more specialist area. Elista Education do super courses for relatively small money, and may even help students to foster contacts in the doggy field they wish to specialise in.
http://www.elistaeducation.com/courses.htm

wexie

DBB wrote: »

That said, I can't think of a single such private organisation that trains their dogs ethically and without a fair degree of coercion, basing the training on some pretty outdated and unnecessarily harsh techniques. Maybe there's a nice ethical one out there, I just haven't come across them.

Would it be possible to do it ethically? As in, is it just in Ireland where this is happening or would you say that the training methods used by numerous armies etc. would be of the same kind.

Just curious. I suppose it'd be easy enough to train a dog to bark at intruders, but beyond that?

DBB

wexie wrote: »

Would it be possible to do it ethically? As in, is it just in Ireland where this is happening or would you say that the training methods used by numerous armies etc. would be of the same kind.

Just curious. I suppose it'd be easy enough to train a dog to bark at intruders, but beyond that?

Absolutely no reason why not! The guards and UK police as a general rule don't use coercive training methods for their dogs, and it is entirely possible, indeed preferable and safer, for dogs to do security work because they genuinely enjoy it
I think the industry probably attracts, well, the wrong sort of trainer because of the image that goes along with it... does that make sense?

wexie

DBB wrote: »

Absolutely no reason why not! The guards and UK police as a general rule don't use coercive training methods for their dogs, and it is entirely possible, indeed preferable and safer, for dogs to do security work because they genuinely enjoy it
I think the industry probably attracts, well, the wrong sort of trainer because of the image that goes along with it... does that make sense?

Sadly that makes perfect sense, very delicately put as well.

I'm thinking of perhaps taken a (some) courses in dog behaviour, would there be anyone you could recommend in the South East? (Portlaoise is a bit of a trek for me )

Millem

DBB wrote: »

Absolutely no reason why not! The guards and UK police as a general rule don't use coercive training methods for their dogs, and it is entirely possible, indeed preferable and safer, for dogs to do security work because they genuinely enjoy it
I think the industry probably attracts, well, the wrong sort of trainer because of the image that goes along with it... does that make sense?

One of my colleagues sent their dog to a certain place who we can't talk about and was sooo shocked when he arrived early to collect the dog. He said the dog wasn't herself for ages after it
I think that they "train" for security Purposes

He found his dog very tough going so sent her there to be "trained"

DBB

wexie wrote: »

Sadly that makes perfect sense, very delicately put as well.

I'm thinking of perhaps taken a (some) courses in dog behaviour, would there be anyone you could recommend in the South East? (Portlaoise is a bit of a trek for me )

Hmmm... I don't think there's anyone down in your neck of the woods. However, those Elista courses are distance-learning with a number of residential weekend in the year, so it's not a matter of having to drive back and forth to Portlaoise on a regular basis.
Actually, that's one of my favourite things about this course, that there is a hands-on, practical side to it so that you can put the theory to practice during the course. People who have done this course, to my mind at least, have a higher level of knowledge than those from other distance-learning courses.

wexie

DBB wrote: »

Hmmm... I don't think there's anyone down in your neck of the woods. However, those Elista courses are distance-learning with a number of residential weekend in the year, so it's not a matter of having to drive back and forth to Portlaoise on a regular basis.
Actually, that's one of my favourite things about this course, that there is a hands-on, practical side to it so that you can put the theory to practice during the course. People who have done this course, to my mind at least, have a higher level of knowledge than those from other distance-learning courses.

I'll have a look into it so, do you get to bring your own dog for the practical bits (I'd love that, although I suppose it'd probably not be a good idea)

DBB

wexie wrote: »

I'll have a look into it so, do you get to bring your own dog for the practical bits (I'd love that, although I suppose it'd probably not be a good idea)

Yes, you do! It's written somewhere in the blurb about what they advise you have access to, and one is a dog to bring with you on the practical weekends